Penny Liberty, The First African American Encyclopedia of African American & Cultural History

It’s a name in which many white folks roll their eyes, Al Sharpton. He is put into many categories and stereotyped as a troublemaker, an instigator, an antagonist and just plain in-your-face, angry would be another one.

I see Al Sharpton through different eyes, and I’m white. I see Al Sharpton in a sense as a hero and I could care less what anyone says because it’s true. Allow me to ask just this one question, what would the black community and people do without him. Many complain about him citing another crime, asking where Sharpton is now if it includes an African American. Hey, look, that’s not his agenda, it’s not what he does. He shows up for the underdog and yes he has an agenda, whether self serving or not, it is effective.

Right now, Sharpton is the shadow of the Sanford Police Department. He is out there organizing and protesting. His message is if George Zimmerman is not arrested for the shooting of Trayvon Martin soon he will call for an escalation in peaceful civil disobedience and economic sanctions, although he wouldn’t say it would be against Sanford.

If not him, then who? Who would stand for the racial predjudice and crimes against blacks if not for Sharpton, he is effective and knows how to capture the media’s attention. I have no problem saying that I believe racism exists, and anybody who is white who says it doesn’t is a liar. I know too much, there is less justice for the African American person than the caucasion.

There too me is no justifying what happened to Trayvon, and I see no better person for the case. Zimmerman should be brought to swift justice and the judge should throw the book at him, he killed a kid. He is a bully, a menace, and heartless despite how much his family protests in the other direction.

If anything, I would hope Al Sharpton would be grooming someone to act in his stead in case something ever happened to him, because he is needed. I have no doubt in my mind this was a racial crime, nobody is going to convice me otherwise, Zimmerman got a gun, wanted to play cop and killed a kid. Send him up the River, and rock on Sharpton!